Bias Cut is a 2012 novel written by Morgan Richter.
Burned out and bitter after a year of professional and
personal disappointments, Nicola Strozyk takes a temporary job working for
Laurie Sparks, the design world’s reigning enfant terrible. Barely in his
twenties, Laurie has built himself an empire that encompasses a chic Manhattan
boutique and a role in an obnoxious reality series. Laurie is beautiful,
extravagant, and effeminate; at nearly twice his age, Nicola is unsentimental
and resolutely unglamorous.
When Laurie becomes obsessed with tracking down the designer of a mysterious coat in Nicola’s possession, they embark upon a quest that takes them from the New York catwalks to Hollywood parties and swanky suites in Paris hotels. What begins as a lark takes a violent turn when they find themselves dogged by a gunman in a bleak town in the Nevada desert. Their odd-couple camaraderie gradually evolves into a fierce bond, which is put to the test when Nicola must protect Laurie from a pair of deadly threats: a mercurial fellow designer hell-bent on burying a dark secret, and an obsessive killer who has fixed his sights on Laurie.
General fiction with strong mystery/thriller elements, Bias Cut is, at heart, a platonic love story between two damaged individuals who discover how much better their lives become when they're together.
When Laurie becomes obsessed with tracking down the designer of a mysterious coat in Nicola’s possession, they embark upon a quest that takes them from the New York catwalks to Hollywood parties and swanky suites in Paris hotels. What begins as a lark takes a violent turn when they find themselves dogged by a gunman in a bleak town in the Nevada desert. Their odd-couple camaraderie gradually evolves into a fierce bond, which is put to the test when Nicola must protect Laurie from a pair of deadly threats: a mercurial fellow designer hell-bent on burying a dark secret, and an obsessive killer who has fixed his sights on Laurie.
General fiction with strong mystery/thriller elements, Bias Cut is, at heart, a platonic love story between two damaged individuals who discover how much better their lives become when they're together.
Connection to Lonely Satellite and Demon City:
Many of the characters in Bias Cut appear in Morgan
Richter’s Lonely Satellite (which is, in fact, an alternate-timeline
reimagining of Bias Cut) as well. In addition, a few characters—notably,
Nicola’s roommate Donya Kashani—appear in or are mentioned in Morgan Richter’s Demon
City.
Awards:
Bias Cut won a Silver medal in the Mystery category
of the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) and was a 2012
semi-finalist (top 1% of 10,000 entries) for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel
Award (ABNA).
In the below links, major plot spoilers are blackened out. Highlight the black areas to read.
Laurie Sparks
Nicola Strozyk
Jonathan Frisch
Danielle Marcin
Molly Gable
